The photograph that her father had recently emailed — for a little parent-to-child ribbing —
shows an 8-year-old Ericka Pfeifer colorfully dressed (bright-pink snow boots and all) and holding
a large fish.

“I just thought it was hysterical,” said Pfeifer, 26, of Grandview Heights.

“I was wearing those swisher pants, the ones that made a lot of noise.”

Even more memorable about the picture: She had caught the pike in about five minutes, she said,
after having watched her older brother fish for hours without luck.

Pfeifer knew what she would do with the shot: post it on her Facebook profile in honor of
Throwback Thursday, a weekly nostalgia-inducing social-media phenomenon that originated on
Instagram and began playing out more recently on Twitter and Facebook, too.

Often referred to by the abbreviated hashtag #tbt, Throwback Thursday is a playful exercise —
one in which the notion of “throwback” varies widely among participants.

Some people post baby photos, while others might share pictures from a vacation of only a year
ago. Others contribute pictures featuring dated fashions — say, hippie bell-bottoms from the ’70s
or permed hair from the ’80s. And still others post historical shots, including many
black-and-white depictions of eras gone by.

Most pictures are accompanied by a bit of information — often humorous — that helps put them in
context.

The online site Digital Trends traces the first #tbt (or #throwbackthursday) Instagram picture
to late 2011.

Jesse Fox, a social-media professor at Ohio State University, credits the growing popularity of
such postings in part to technological advances.

“We can share things we couldn’t share before online,” Fox said. “Everyone has a scanner and can
scan in their old childhood photos. It’s fun because it integrates the old with the new. You can
share an older version of yourself that’s not on social media.”

Plus, she said, such photos nowadays are less likely to evoke discomfort from their subjects,
who often use them to make light of their awkward years.

Stacia Momany, 33, acknowledged that her favorite posts are the “embarrassing” ones from high
school and college.

“There’s lots of zebra prints, snakeskin,” the Grandview Heights resident said. “I like showing
the outfits from the late ’90s, the early 2000s.”

That period, she noted, included her “big-hair” phase.

Momany, a regular #tbt poster on Instagram for 18 months, has recently seen an uptick in
participation among her friends and relatives.

“People who don’t even use any other social media besides Facebook are doing it,” she said.

Julie Lorenz began sharing Throwback Thursday photos on Facebook during the summer — and has
since made it a weekly habit.

The 53-year-old Worthington resident might choose a photo from a particular stage of her life —
her childhood, her college days at Ashland University, her early years of motherhood — or follow a
seasonal theme.

“At Halloween, I might post an old picture of the kids in their costumes,” said the mother of
two college-age sons and a daughter in high school.

The postings allow her to reflect and to stay connected with friends or relatives who live in
far-flung places.

Most of her #tbt updates, she said, draw many comments.

“I went to Florida twice with friends in college. It’s fun to think back to that time.”

The “good old days” seem to be a common motivator for older Throwback Thursday participants,
said Beverley Golden, author of
Confessions of a Middle-Aged Hippie.

“There’s always a nostalgia for an earlier time,” said Golden, who lives in Toronto. “Maybe it’s
a simpler time, an easier time.”

In recent months, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman has joined the social-media users who are
re-connecting to the past.

Throwback Thursday became the perfect outlet for him to share some of the old photos given to
him during the holidays by his mother, said Tyneisha Harden, who manages the mayor’s social
media.

“It’s a glimpse into his personal life, his past and how he got to where he is,” Harden
said.

Coleman’s #tbt contributions include shots of him on his first trip to Washington; as a teenager
lifting weights; and from his college days at the University of Cincinnati.

His ’70s aviator glasses and Afro-style hair, Harden said, have elicited comments, as has his
participation in general.

“It sparks more conversation and interaction on his pages,” she said.

The personal nature of the posts — the mayor recounts memories in the captions accompanying the
photos — give people a glimpse of the nonpolitical side of Coleman — which the public doesn’t often
see, Harden said.

For central Ohio businesses and organizations, Throwback Thursday provides a way to connect with
consumers.

Each week, Ohio State University posts vintage photos of the campus back in the day and Jim Keim
Ford shares snapshots of antique cars.

Grandview Dental Care, where Momany works in the business office, has also begun to reminisce
digitally.

Four Thursdays ago, the office posted an employee’s wedding photo from 2002.

“Forty people liked the photo, and it got 20 comments — which for a dental office is kind of
rare,” Momany said.

About a year ago, Pfeifer — who manages social media for the Ohio Department of Transportation —
began posting historical photos on the department’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

Recently, the department has shared photos of 1948 snowplows and highway crews at work in
1935.

Although sifting through all the old photos can be laborious, she said, the task has a notable
upside.

“It allows people to see the department as more — that there really are people behind what we
do,” Pfeifer said.